On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, an introductory conference was held in the historical premises of the renaissance castle Burg in Považie Podhradie, the "Renovation of Považský Castle" project. Experts participating in the preservation of the national cultural heritage presented the project to the public and its individual stages.

The invitation to the conference was attended by lecturers who have been involved in the revitalization of the monuments for several years, building contractors, experts on the legal regulation of the protection of cultural monuments and tourism experts. The conference titled Renovation of Považský Castle - Theory and Practice I opened with an address by the Mayor of Považská Bystrica, Karol Janas . At the beginning of the meeting, he stressed the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of our ancestors for future generations, highlighting the main goal of the project.

The participants of the conference were able to learn about the results of the ongoing architectural and historical research that has been carried out in various parts of Považský Castle since 2008. The representative of the Regional Monument Office has approached how to proceed with the restoration of cultural monuments. He explained to the listener the rights and obligations of the owner of the national cultural monument - in this case the town of Považská Bystrica.

Within the framework of the conference, the individual stages of construction and reconstruction works at Považský Hrádek were presented, which will be implemented during the reconstruction. "The redevelopment of the southeastern part of the castle, landscaping, the restoration of the remains of a part of the palace, called the chapel, and the installation of the elements of the information system, will be carried out," Vojtech Krumpolec, an authorized architect of AŽ PROJEKT sro , said in his lecture. The planned reconstruction of the castle will bring more comfort to tourists visiting it. "Visitors can enjoy a new educational walkway with information tables and a castle model. The trail leads to the farthest part of the castle, where the footbridge and binoculars will be installed after a field survey. There will also be rests and bicycle racks, " added Marika Zábojníková from the development and development department of Považská Bystrica.

The gradual restoration and preservation of the castle complex is the old civic association of the Castle Association since 2008. The Association's activities and its members were presented in the lecture by the Chairman of the Association Štefan Paluš . The opening of the opening conference was a contribution to the restoration research of fragments of the eastern part of the south wing of Považský Castle. The listeners became more familiar with the exploration and subsequent restoration of the painted facades as well as the individual stages of their creation.

The reconstruction project of Považský Castle is financed by grants from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway . The financial resources are also included in the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and funds from the state budget of the Slovak Republic . The total eligible costs of the project amount to EUR 537 864 of which the grant amounts to EUR 457 184 and the co-financing from own resources amounts to EUR 80 680 . "The OZ Association of Castle and one of the founding members of the Regional Tourism Organization (KOCR) Trenčín Region - Regional Organization of Tourism (OOCR) Horné Považie are partners of the National Cultural Monument Renovation Project. I am very glad that our member organization is thus actively engaged in the rescue and reconstruction of one of the biggest attractions of Horné Povazia, " said the chairman of KOCR Trenčín region Juraj Gerlici .

Photo by Matej Baninec, Janka Ambrózová